title: Getting to the heart of the matter: a trialist's approach to the use of nonsteroidal anti‑inflammatory drugs for patients with chronic pain syndromes.
abstract: In this editorial, I refer to the relative risks associated with different interventions. To provide a perspective of what it means, please consider the risks of particular events in the placebo group of controlled trials of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors: major vascular events (0.82%) including nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI; 0.29%) or any MI (0.33%), any stroke (0.36%), heart failure (0.26%), upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding (0.14%) with any major GI complication (0.19%).
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Farkouh
mesh_terms: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D018849:Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D052246:Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced; D006471:Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / Q000139:chemically induced; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000139:chemically induced; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000139:chemically induced; D018570:Risk Assessment; D020521:Stroke / Q000139:chemically induced; D013577:Syndrome
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D052246:Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors